*Maximum SSL validity period changes:
- March 1, 2018 - 2 years
- August 18, 2020 - 1 year
Namecheap offers 2*, 3, 4, and 5-year SSL certificates to provide customers with the best service and value for money. Buying an SSL certificate of more than 1 year gets you the lowest price possible for your SSL and protects you against industry price rises.
I bought a multi-year certificate - how come I only received a 1-year SSL?
It’s important to note that when you purchase a multi-year SSL certificate, it will only be issued for a period of 1 year at a time. You will need to have the SSL certificate reissued annually to use the remaining period of the SSL you bought. You can do this easily from your account panel.
This is due to the SSL industry’s SSL lifetime limit.
What is the SSL lifetime limit?
The SSL lifetime limit is the maximum allowed lifetime of an SSL certificate permitted by major web browsers such as Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. The lifetime limit of an SSL certificate is 398 days, which is a 1-year certificate.
What does this mean for my multi-year certificate?
When you activate a certificate purchased for 2, 3, 4, or 5 years, the SSL will be issued for 1 year. To use the remaining time left when 1 year has passed, you will need to reissue the SSL.
What is a Reissue?
A reissue is how you use the remaining period of a multi-year SSL you purchased. When you reissue your SSL, the Certificate Authority will send you another 1-year SSL (or less, depending on how long is left on your certificate period). You should then replace your current SSL due to expire with the new reissued SSL.
You can reissue your SSL on the SSL details page in your Namecheap account panel. The process is similar to when you first bought and activated your SSL.
Keep in mind, that if you reissue a Multi-Year OV or EV SSL, and it's already been more than 45 days since the initial issuance, ensure to use the same company details as it will be not possible to change the details at this stage.
Will I have to pay to Reissue?
Nope, the reissue process is free of charge.
What happens if I don’t Reissue?
If you don't reissue your SSL on time, its status will change to "Paused," and the existing SSL certificate file will no longer be valid. Your website connection will stop being encrypted, and web browsers will flag your site as "not secure."
To restore a secure connection to your site, you will need to
perform a reissue and install the reissued SSL you obtain on your website.
Please keep in mind:The remaining days of the certificate will continue elapsing during the pause due to the technical nature of the multi-year product set up on the Certificate Authority's end. Therefore, it is important to reissue the certificate in time or as soon as it is possible after the "Pause" status appears.
